Here's to a brighter year ahead for Derbyshire's theatres and entertainers

For most people in the entertainment industry 2020 has been an unforgettable year – for all the wrong reasons.
Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw in April in Paris which visits the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield, in March 2021.Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw in April in Paris which visits the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield, in March 2021.
Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw in April in Paris which visits the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield, in March 2021.

Work dried up as venues shut their doors, leaving actors and musicians worried about their livelihoods.Most theatres across the country remained dark since the first lockdown in March.Chesterfield’s Pomegranate Theatre took the bold step of opening its doors in the autumn, screening films and a live drama season to socially distanced audiences only to have the programme of entertainment curtailed by the second lockdown.The Pomegranate was the only professional theatre in Derbyshire to reopen to audiences for a few weeks – and the last in the county to announce that it would have to pull the plug on its panto this year.However. as one year closes, another one opens. And there’s a lot to look forward to at Chesterfield theatres in 2021, Covid permitting.The first show of the year is at the Winding Wheel on January 28 when musical comedian Robert White of Britain’s Got Talent fame brings his Tank Top Tour: Take Two to town.Strictly Come Dancing siblings Kevin and Joanne Clifton will be showing off their moves and their fine voices (honed in numerous musical theatre productions ) in an intimate show for a socially distanced audience at the Winding Wheel on January 30.The Pomegranate’s programme opens where it left off in October with a continuation of the autumn play season. Live Bed Show will run from February 2 to 6 and All About Murder from February 9 to 13.John Godber’s comedy April in Paris, starring Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw, promises to be a highlight of the first quarter of the year when it tours to the Pomegranate on March 2 and 3.

A Touch of Frost actor John Lyons, who played David Jason’s sidekick DS George Toolan, returns to the Pomegranate. John is cast as a mild-mannered priest in the drama Father Brown – The Murderer in the Mirror.

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Music fans can listen to tales of Madness from Suggs, the frontman of the zany ska band. on April 17 and folk legends Steeleye Span on May 11, both shows are at the Winding Wheel.

For the full programme, go to www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk